


Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

by AbschaumNo1



Series: Skate Date Verse [7]
Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, M/M, POV Outsider, always with those meddling kids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-22
Updated: 2017-11-22
Packaged: 2019-02-05 13:00:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12795108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbschaumNo1/pseuds/AbschaumNo1
Summary: ‘I slept with Shawzy’is all Seabs' text says, and… okay that’s not quite what Duncs expected.‘Good for you’he texts back, because well, what’s he supposed to say to that?‘No. I SLEPT with Shawzy’





	Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday Megs!
> 
> Hello and welcome back to this hole I'm still trying to drag people down into. Is it working yet?  
> I've been meaning to write Duncs' point of view for Skate Date, but never got round to it until now, but here it finally is, since I felt inspired. And also because writing about watching Seabs and Shawzy fall in love seems like a good way to take a break from writing about Seabs and Shawzy being in love... that's how this works, right?
> 
> Thanks a lot to A for the quick (and awesome!) beta job! <33 
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> The title is inspired by the Jack Johnson song.

The morning after winning the Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe Duncs wakes up with the worst hangover he’s had in a while. He’s lucky someone had enough foresight to put a glass of water and some Tylenol on his nightstand. He stays right where he is until it kicks in and only then does he venture out and go down to the kitchen.

He gets himself a cup of coffee and locates his phone to at least give his texts a cursory glance before he’ll probably delete most of them.

There’s a text from Seabs, which makes him pause. He opens it, slowly sipping his coffee. It must be important, he thinks.  Why else would Seabs text him this early?

_ ‘I slept with Shawzy’ _ is all it says, and… okay that’s not quite what he expected.

_ ‘Good for you’ _ he texts back, because well, what’s he supposed to say to that?

_ ‘No. I SLEPT with Shawzy’ _

Duncs would be tempted to roll his eyes if he wasn’t hungover. He has watched the two of them these past months, and yeah, they’ve become close friends. But if Seabs hasn’t realized that Shawzy is developing a crush, he’s dumber than Duncs thought. Shawzy is not exactly the most subtle person around. And Duncan  _ knows _ Seabs, and he knows that Seabs is not disinterested either.

Instead of texting Seabs again Duncs hits the call button. “You better bring breakfast if you want to talk about this,” he says when Seabs picks up.

“Way ahead of you. I already got you the greasiest sandwich I could find.”

“Damn right you did,” Duncs grumbles, mildly appeased.

“I’ll be there in five.”

 

While he waits, Duncs finishes his coffee and gets the next cup. He scrolls until he finds the message from his mom, telling him that she and his dad went out with Colton and to text when they can come back. Then he fires off a few thank you texts to a couple of people.

When Seabs rings the bell, Duncs opens the door and grabs the paper bag from his hand, leaving him to wander to the kitchen on his own. By the time Seabs gets to the kitchen, Duncs is already sitting down with his sandwich, two mugs of coffee on the table.

“So Shawzy,” he says before taking the blessed first bite.

“Yeah,” Seabs says, trailing off immediately. Duncs raises an eyebrow and waits for him to continue. “He just said that we should make out and it all kind of went from there.”

Duncs waits for him to add more, but when he hasn’t done so by the time he swallows his bite, he puts his sandwich down and says, “Do you regret it?”

“No,” Seabs says immediately.

“Did he look like he regretted it when you left?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Then I don’t see your problem, Seabs. You’re both adults.”

“I don’t know, I just… I don’t want things to get awkward. He’s a friend, I don’t want to lose that.”

“Was it awkward this morning when you woke up?”

“…No. It was normal. He made breakfast, and then we went our separate ways.”

Duncs sighs and leans back. “Listen, the way I see it you’re friends, and that’s not gonna change. So there’s no reason for you to sit here and freak out.”

Seabs rubs a hand across his face. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“So ya rocked the Mutt’s world, eh?” Duncs asks.

“A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell.” Seabs smirks as he says it, and Duncs shoves a hand in his face.

“Cut the crap. You’re no gentleman.”

Seabs leans back with a smile. “It was good,” he finally says. “Real good.” He doesn’t come forth with details, but Duncs knows that smile well enough to know that Shawzy must have done everything right.

 

They don’t talk about it again over the summer, and Duncs almost forgets about it. Seabs and Shawzy don’t act any different around each other when he sees them interact, so he doesn’t think he has to concern himself with the topic again.

That is until the pre-season when Seabs tells him over lunch that he slept with Shawzy again and mentions inviting him to tag along when he goes to the park with Carter. Seabs moves on immediately, but Duncs pauses and considers him for a moment. Seabs acts like it’s casual, just something friends do, but Duncs has been his best friend for long enough to know that it’s not. Seabs  _ loves _ his son, he’s ridiculously protective of him, and there is nothing casual about this. This means that Seabs has thought about it, that he is sure about whatever he wants from Shawzy, and that he’s willing to risk pulling Carter into it as well. Duncs has no idea when it happened, but he is fairly certain it wasn’t yesterday, and maybe he should concern himself with this after all.

He doesn’t press Seabs for information. In fact, he restrains himself from trying to figure this out until Saader calls him the week after.

And well, he was never that close to Saader outside team things. They were always friendly, but never friends. So it’s kind of unusual that Saader calls now. He doesn’t beat around the bush either, just says, “So Seabs and Shawzy.”

“Yeah,” Duncs says.

“Anything I need to know there?”

“Depends on what Shawzy told you.”

“It wasn’t much. They slept together and now Seabs got him to spend time with him and Carter.”

“You think he gets what it means?”

There’s a pause, and then Saader says, “I don’t think he does. I don’t think he knows what he wants it to mean either.”

“So he’s completely clueless.” Duncs groans and lets his head fall to the back of the couch.

“I haven’t figured out if it’s because he doesn’t  _ want _ to know or if he’s just so clueless that it hasn’t occurred to him yet.”

“Seabs acts like it’s no big deal, but I think he’s been faster on the uptake. Not that he’s going to say anything about it.”

Saader sighs. “I’ll keep you updated on my side. Can you maybe keep an eye on both of them? I know you’re Seabs’ best friend first, but as long as Shawzy doesn’t tell anyone else, I don’t know who else to ask.”

“Yeah, I get it. I’ll keep you updated.”

“Thanks.” Saader pauses. “So what do we do if they don’t get their shit together?”

“I don’t know yet. I hope for them that they do. Jonny and Kaner are bad enough already.”

“I can’t do much from here, but call me if you need me.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that.”

 

From then on Duncs starts to watch Shawzy. And well, he’s no goalie, but in his opinion any good D-Man needs to be almost as observant. It can make or break a game. And so he starts taking Shawzy apart like he would any forward he faces on the ice. What he sees gives him hope for Seabs, not that he would tell him. Shawzy doesn’t seem to realise it, and he’s very good at keeping things professional at practice, but Duncs sees the way his eyes linger on Seabs for longer than is necessary sometimes, or how he’ll trace the muscles of Seabs’ back with his eyes when they’re in the locker room and he thinks no one is looking. It’s subtle enough that Duncs thinks he might’ve missed it if he wasn’t looking for it, but it’s also unmistakable. And the look in Shawzy’s eyes. Well, Duncs will be damned if there are no feelings involved.

Seabs is not much better. There’s definitely feelings involved there, even if he doesn’t tell Duncs about it.

 

Saader calls him again after the Blue Jackets’ game in Chicago. He had hung out with Shawzy alone, and Duncs had already suspected that it was mostly because Shawzy needed to talk to him in private.

Saader’s call only confirms his suspicion.

“So Shawzy’s in love with Seabs,” Saader says and Duncs finds himself nodding, even though he knows Saader can’t see it.

“So he’s finally figured it out,” he says.

“Yeah. But not that Seabs has feelings for him, too. He’s still clueless about that.”

“Well, that would have been too easy.”

Saader sighs. “I guess so. I tried to tell him that he’s wrong about Seabs not returning his feelings, but he insists that Seabs has Carter to think about and that just because they have sex it doesn’t mean Seabs would consider a relationship.”

“God, I’m surrounded by idiots.”

“Yeah. It would be almost cute if it wasn’t so frustrating to watch.”

“I guess.” Duncs shifts the ice pack on his knee around as he says it. He’d probably be more inclined to agree with Saader if he wasn’t in pain right now, but like this he’s just way too frustrated to think about it.

“So what now?”

“I don’t know,” Duncs says. “I’ll think about it. I’ll probably have to have surgery for my knee soon, maybe some distance will help me figure something out.”

“That bad?” Saader asks, and it’s not immediately clear if he means the knee or Seabs and Shawzy.

“Yeah,” Duncs says, and he’s fairly sure he means both.

“For what it’s worth Shawzy absolutely adores Carter, so whatever Seabs is attempting with inviting him along to hang out with both of them, it’s probably working.”

“I don’t even know what Seabs is doing with that. He doesn’t tell me.”

And Saader seems to sense that Duncs is annoyed, because he quickly wraps the call up after that.

“Get well soon,” he says before he hangs up. A smile curls Duncs’s lips. Saader’s always been a good guy.

 

Duncs gets surgery a few days later and then he’s out and away from the team for the most part. Once the pain is mostly gone, he realises how bored he is, and when it gets too much he even finds himself thinking about how to solve the Seabs-and-Shawzy problem.

He has the idea when he’s facetiming Colton. He’s a bit wistful that he doesn’t get to be around to watch him grow anymore. As many problems as he and Kelly Rae had by the end of their marriage, he loves his kid, and even if he gets that it’s better for him to be with his mother, it sucks. But seeing Colton also reminds him that he has always gotten into trouble together with Carter, and that’s pretty much what Duncs needs right now. 

He leaves it until he has reason enough to claim that he’s bored out of his mind at home and then he goes to visit Seabs. If it’s because he knows that Shawzy will come around as well that day that’s between him and Saader.

Duncs brings a book, because it’s not like he can play a lot with Carter, but that’s not the point. The point is to catch Carter alone and talk to him, and maybe to annoy Seabs a little and get him to talk.

It works brilliantly. Seabs is very obviously annoyed but doesn’t send him away, because Carter spots him and Seabs just can’t say no when facing his son’s excitement. And then Seabs even disappears upstairs to fold laundry and stew in his annoyance, and it’s the perfect chance.

“Hey Carter, you like Shawzy, right?” Duncs asks casually as he helps him stack a bunch of wood bricks.

“Andy’s great” Carter agrees solemnly, attention never diverting away from the bricks. “Daddy likes him lots!”

And huh, maybe Duncs underestimated Carter a little there.

“You think so?” he says.

Carter nods. “Daddy’s happy.”

“Hey, so I want to help them, because they don’t talk about how they really like each other. Do you want to help with that, too?”

Carter looks up at him now. “Help?”

“Yeah, Shortcake, we’re going to help them.”

Carter seems to think about it, but then he nods and says, “Yes, we help!”

“Good. But it has to be a secret, because they can’t know we’re helping okay?” Carter nods very seriously and Duncs holds out his pinkie to him. “Pinkie promise?” he asks, and Carter can’t quite manage hooking his pinkie around Duncs’ but he makes a valiant effort.

“Pinkie promise,” he says, before he turns back to his bricks.

 

Duncs has to give up sitting on the floor soon after because of his knee, and moves to the couch instead to read. Seabs is puttering around the house somewhere, and Duncs leaves him to it. He knows it’s better to let him do his thinking for now if he wants to get him to talk.

Soon enough the doorbell rings, and then Shawzy is standing in the door, surprised to see Duncs on the couch. Duncs shoots him a knowing smile, before he goes back to his book and pretends not to listen as Seabs joins them and tells Shawzy about how Duncs invited himself over.

Seabs sends Shawzy and Carter on to the kitchen to draw, but stays behind, glaring at Duncs, who slowly puts his book down and turns to look at him.

“What’s your problem?” Seabs asks, deceptively calm.

“I told you, I was bored. I thought I’d come over and see what you’re up to.”

Seabs rolls his eyes. “Don’t lie to me, we both know that’s not why.”

“Maybe if you told me what you’re doing with Shawzy, I could tell you what I’m doing here.”

“He’s a friend I invited to come over. Unlike you.”

“Come on, Seabsieboy, try a little harder. We know each other too well to try and pull that kind of shit.” Duncs gives Seabs his most unimpressed look to go along with it.

Seabs sighs and runs a hand through his hair as he sits down next to Duncs. “I invited him, because I like him and want to spend more time with him” he says. “Happy now?”

Duncs makes a humming sound. “That’s what I was waiting to hear,” he says finally. “But I think I’m not the one you should tell that.”

“Come on, Duncs, you know I can’t risk it.”

“I don’t think you’re right about that,” Duncs says gently. “It’s obvious that he’s head over heels for you.”

“I’m an ageing d-man, who’s also a single father. And I’m six years older than he is, what would he want with me?”

Duncs sighs. “That doesn’t sound like the Seabs I know. We both know that you’re better than that and he’s lucky to have you.” He gets up, and squeezes Seabs’ shoulder. “And for the record, I think he’d agree with me.”

He leaves with that, letting Seabs think about it, while he goes to say goodbye to Carter, who’s still drawing with Shawzy in the kitchen. When he peeks into the living room again on his way out, Seabs is still sitting on the sectional, head tipped back and sighing heavily. Duncs leaves him to it.

 

To make sure he sends Shawzy a text that evening when he’s sure that he’s already sleeping.  _ ‘You 2 are idiots’ _ it says. Maybe it’s enough to make Shawzy think.

 

After that Duncs does a lot of waiting. He still watches Seabs and Shawzy, but if there’s any change in their relationship they’re really good at not showing it. He does have his suspicions about the Vegas trip, and well, the fact that Duncs overhears Seabs calling Liz to ask her to stay until the morning after that one game in Nashville, as well as the worried look Seabs shoots Shawzy as he passes them on the plane. They are really obvious, but he can’t be entirely sure, so he doesn’t mention it.

 

Somehow Duncs thinks it should have been less of a surprise when they turn up at the holiday skate together. He can’t help being a little bit hurt that Seabs didn’t tell him earlier. But it’s gone as soon as he watches the three of them skating around the rink together. They just look so happy and in love, Duncs can’t help being happy for them. Besides, he doesn’t have time to be miffed about it. Colton is visiting him in Chicago, and he’s planning to enjoy every single moment he gets with his son.


End file.
